Count On
We finished the 50 day count and celebrated Shavuot last week. Someone is still counting! They are not lagging behind or making up for not having counted—they started again. I receive a little note each day of his new count. Whether you are choosing to continue your count or not—the importance of ‘extending’ the count […]
Over the Counter and Generic Counting
Are we finished counting? A student asked me this morning: What am I going to do with my son who has been counting along with me and excited to remind me each night—let’s count the Omer? What do we do now that the count is over? In following the method of following the count of […]
Day 49 – Malchut in Malchut
We do not only want to be “free at last” but to have a lasting freedom. We now stand in our change—this is revelation, accepting the Divine calling. Engraving it upon the heart and being whole. Dayenu. It is enough. The count continues. Moses ascends the mountain and the people remain below. Can we continue […]
Day 48 – Yesod in Malchut
For each week’s Sefirah you can ask yourself on this day of Yesod, have I done the inner work needed…to do the outer work? Have I laid the proper foundation—dug deep enough into myself to construct a new reality—a new me?
Day 47 – Hod in Malchut
Change though is challenging. Even though doubt has been removed, we can tire, our determination can flag. And so we reflect—we pause at the foot of the mountain to gather strength so that we can push on. Taking a breather means to breathe in the change, to surrender to a higher calling and ready ourselves […]
Day 46 – Netzach in Malchut
How will the change be everlasting? By removing all obstacles to change and the final obstacle—stopping. Change is an everlasting-ever evolving process. The only certainty then is change. No statues or monuments. God reminds us: You saw no image at Sinai. Don’t pause or pose—neither accept the status quo for yourself nor start posing for […]
Day 45 – Tiferet in Malchut
Harmony in Malchut takes into recognition how others are responding to your changing. As Rabbi Yehudah states in Ethics of the Fathers: “What is the path to be chosen? A path that is harmonious for the person choosing it and harmonizes with those around. Does this mean that we should not change unless our change […]
Day 44 –Gevurah in Malchut
What do I want to get done today? A strategy of Gevurah is to start with something—a smaller accomplishment of the larger goal keeps the focus on the big picture of change but gets one moving. So start with an aspect of the change you are implementing—not something tangential or even preparatory to change, something […]
Day 43 – Chesed in Malchut
Recall: That first day of the count is akin to the momentous exodus from Egypt. The excitement can feel overwhelming—that first day (Chesed in Chesed) and this day of Chesed in Malchut. You are ready for change—doubt is cleared and you are charged to fulfill on your commitment to change. Feel the energy and envision […]
Week 7. The Week of Malchut
It is now the beginning of the 7th week as we count up to Shavuot and this week is Malchut. The definition of Malchut is sovereignty. The opposite of a slave is the Pharoh—the master. Of course, our journey on this path of spiritual growth is not about transforming the slave into the master—it is […]